Let me give you a story that illustrates why it’s so implausible. Back when President Clinton was running for his second term, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Affairs that comes up with the GDP number were changing the way we measure GDP growth, okay? And they were going to something that is a technical term called chained-weighted GDP. And the result of going to chain-weighted GDP was that the GDP number would be lower than the old methodology.

The President was furious because everyone thought they were coming up with a number that was lower. He said, ‘Can’t you stop this? Can’t you wait until after the election?’ We said, ‘No, they’re an independent agency. We can’t touch them.’

…but the point is no president –except maybe Nixon– would try to change what the Bureau of Labor Statistics does or what the BEA does. These are really independent statistical agencies. The idea that they would do that is …literally absurd.

About the Author

Roxanne Cooper is the publisher of Raw Story. She has 20+ years experience in media management, marketing, and advertising and has held positions with AlterNet, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, LA Weekly, San Francisco Bay Guardian, and Stars & Stripes. From 2004-2008, Roxanne published the popular political blog Rox Populi. She lives in San Francisco and you can follow her on Twitter at @AlterRox.